North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF - Surpasses $125 Million in Assets; Baseload, Carbon-Free Nuclear Gains Attention in Climate Debate
Fund is up 119% since its December 2019 inception.
NEW YORK, March 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Shore Global Uranium ETF (NYSE: URNM) has surpassed $125 million in assets under management (AUM) as of 3/1/21. Launched on 12/4/19, the fund has produced a cumulative return of over 119% (on a price basis) since its inception through 2/28/21.
Performance quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so you may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Current performance may be higher or lower than that quoted. Shares are bought and sold at market price and not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. For performance current to the most recent month end, visit https://urnmetf.com/urnm. High short-term performance of the fund is unusual and investors should not expect such performance to be repeated.
"Despite the strong performance of uranium and uranium stocks, we believe that we are still in the early innings of a bull market for the commodity," said Tim Rotolo, CEO and Founder of North Shore Indices, the sponsor of URNM. Mr. Rotolo went on to note, "supply and demand dynamics appear favorable for uranium as miners have slashed production just as the construction and development of new nuclear energy reactors is accelerating."
Based on North Shore's research, uranium demand currently exceeds supply. Uranium prices will need to rise substantially from their current levels to induce uranium miners to reopen closed mines and to develop new mines.1 These projections do not factor in the potential for nuclear power to be a key role-player in the electrification and decarbonization efforts of the US, China and Japan, all of whom have publicly stated goals of carbon neutrality by 2035 to 2060.
URNM seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the North Shore Global Uranium Mining Index.
The index is designed to track the performance of companies that are involved in the mining, exploration, development and production of uranium as well as companies that hold physical uranium, uranium royalties or other non-mining assets.
Originally launched with a tilt toward junior miners, which may have a higher beta2 to an increase in the price of uranium, the index has increased that exposure over the past year as well as removing non-pure play miners. The market capitalization of the industry has grown in 2020 allowing for a greater selection of companies which meet the index selection criteria.
"We are gratified to see the growth of URNM over the past year which underscores our strategy of providing investors with access to products that aim to give them exposure to non-traditional sources of alpha3," said J. Garrett Stevens, CEO of Exchange Traded Concepts and advisor to the fund. "We look forward to continuing our relationship with Tim and North Shore and to bring this exciting investment opportunity to a broader audience of investors," added Mr. Stevens.
1 Our team performed a comprehensive analysis on the supply and demand of uranium across the globe. Based on our estimates, uranium supply totals 170MM lbs. However, demand seems to be closer to 200MM lbs. Our estimate was based on an analysis of all current and prospective uranium mines, as well as all operating, under construction, and proposed nuclear reactors in the world. We believe current production is not enough to supply existing demand, let alone the potential future growth. The supply deficit has been filled by a reduction in inventories.
2 Beta is a measure of how an individual asset moves, on average, when its benchmark increases or decreases.
3 Alpha is a measure of the return of an investment above its benchmark return.
Risk Disclosure and Important Information
Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC serves as the investment advisor. The Fund is distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (1 Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456), which is not affiliated with Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC, North Shore Indices, or any affiliates. Check the background of SIDCO on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Carefully consider the Fund's investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Fund's full or summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting urnmetf.com.
Investors should read it carefully before investing or sending money. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, international investments may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles or from social, economic or political instability in other nations. Emerging markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors as well as increased volatility and lower trading volume. Narrowly focused investments, investments in smaller companies, and those in commodities typically exhibit higher volatility. Issuers in energy-related industries can be significantly affected by fluctuations in energy prices and supply and demand of energy fuels.
Commodity prices may be influenced or characterized by unpredictable factors, including high volatility, changes in supply and demand relationships, weather, agriculture, trade, changes in interest rates and monetary and other governmental policies, action and inaction. Uranium Companies may be significantly subject to the effects of competitive pressures in the uranium business and the price of uranium. The price of uranium may be affected by changes in inflation rates, interest rates, monetary policy, economic conditions and political stability. The price of uranium may fluctuate substantially over short periods of time; therefore the Fund's share price may be more volatile than other types of investments. In addition, they may also be significantly affected by import controls, worldwide competition, liability for environmental damage, depletion of resources, mandated expenditures for safety and pollution control devices, political and economic conditions in uranium producing and consuming countries, and uranium production levels and costs of production. Demand for nuclear energy may face considerable risk as a result of, among other risks, incidents and accidents, breaches of security, ill-intentioned acts of terrorism, air crashes, natural disasters, equipment malfunctions or mishandling in storage, handling, transportation, treatment or conditioning of substances and nuclearm materials.
There is no guarantee the fund will achieve its stated objective. Indices are unmanaged and do not include the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index. The fund is non-diversified.
Shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market price returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00 PM Eastern time and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. The first trading date is typically several days after the fund inception date. Therefore, NAV is used to calculate market returns prior to the first trade date because there is no bid/ask spread until the fund starts trading.
SOURCE Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC
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